RAS question
Which Article provides for the establishment of tribunals for adjudication of disputes relating to public service matters?
Correct answer: (B) Article 323A.
Article 323A of the Constitution of India empowers Parliament to provide for administrative tribunals for disputes and complaints relating to recruitment and conditions of service in public services and posts.
Explanation
Article 323A is the specific constitutional provision for administrative tribunals in public service matters. Parliament may, by law, provide for adjudication or trial by administrative tribunals of disputes and complaints about recruitment and service conditions of persons appointed to public services and posts under the Union, a State, local authority, government-controlled authority, or government-owned or controlled corporation. It also links this power to the Forty-second Amendment and to the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, which established the Central Administrative Tribunal. Article 323B is different because it deals with tribunals for other matters, not service disputes.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Article 323B covers tribunals for other specified matters, such as tax-related matters, so it is not the specific provision for public service recruitment and service-condition disputes.
- (C) Article 226 concerns the High Courts' writ jurisdiction, whereas the question asks for the Article that enables establishment of administrative tribunals for service matters.
- (D) Article 136 is referred to in Article 323A as the Supreme Court jurisdiction that may be preserved, but it is not the provision that creates administrative tribunals for public service disputes.
Concept
This tests the tribunal provisions in Part XIV-A of the Constitution, especially the distinction between Articles 323A and 323B. RAS repeatedly asks it because service tribunals, writ remedies, and judicial review are core governance and constitutional-administration themes.